Vanguard Of Harmony
By Enfield
"Oh cruel fate, why did this happen?" Celestia thought as she sat on her throne and awaited the arrival of the prisoner, "It's been over a year since I last saw him. Will he remember me? More importantly, will he help me after what I did to him?"
The fact that she had several armed guards sitting at the foot of her throne and about twenty more standing to attention on the far sides of the room didn't calm her nerves. She had heard the story of what the prisoner did at his trial, not only did he destroy the Elements of Harmony but he also managed to rebuild them after he killed Discord. Discord...the mere thought of his name sent shivers down Celesita's spine. He was dead but his ghost still stalked around the castle, eager for revenge against the stallion who killed him. Much to the princess's dismay Discord's ghost was still trying to restore his powers but he had no luck. Celestia put that out of her mind and tried to focus on the more important matter, the collapse of Equestria.
One year had passed, one year had passed since Queen Chrysalis had been expelled from Ponyville along with her Swarm, but her brave soldiers weren't the ones who got rid of the Changelings; It was a human, one who had worked for Chrysalis and then for unknown reasons changed sides. Or so it seemed until he hit Shining Armor in the face and escaped the town, no trace was left of the human. He had become a thing of nightmares after what he did in Ponyville. He single handedly destroyed half of the town with explosives, led the Changeling charge and injured more than twenty ponies. The only troubling thing about the human was that Celestia forgot his name and what he looked like, worst of all was that he was still out there and many ponies had moved out of Ponyville for their safety, leaving the population just under a hundred compared to the several hundred of before. Celestia loved the town of Ponyville but now she had to avert her eyes from it, the town was still damaged and now in a state of neglect. It was troubling knowing that the town where the Holders of the Elements first met was now crumbling under the weight of distrust, paranoia, and neglect. Celestia wept softly for the town but stopped when two guards opened up the door and six more entered, in the center of the guards was a steel gray stallion.
The stallion saw Celestia and cowered for a second but he regained his posture and kept pace with the guards escorting him. Celestia saw the chains that were clamped to his legs, neck and around his body and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had saved Equestria and now because of her arrogance he had been banished to the moon. The stallion's swept back black and silver mane looked rather messy along with his spiky tail of the same color, what made this stallion stand out from the rest was his piercing blue eyes and the strange burn mark on his right foreleg. Celestia heard how he acquired the scars and she thought best if she didn't ask for the story. As the guards and their prisoner neared the throne the guards in front of the princess aimed their spears at the stallion, they weren't nervous of him doing anything, they were just making sure that Celestia would be safe.
"Your Highness," the guard captain said, "We have brought the prisoner as you asked."
"Thank you," Celestia said. The stallion looked up at her, he didn't seem angry or irritated with Celestia. He looked very calm and collective, as if he knew why he was here instead of his crater on the moon. The six escorts stepped aside and allowed the stallion to take a step closer. He didn't greet the princess as she expected, she cleared her throat and decided to break the silence.
"Hello," Celestia said.
The stallion just gave a nod of reply.
"This could be harder than I thought," Celestia thought, she then spoke up, "Are you going to say anything during our little meeting?"
The stallion shook his head and gave a 'You're the one talking, tell me why I'm here' gesture to Celestia. He then smiled a little which eased her mind.
"I just want to say that I'm sorry first. It's been on my mind for a while, I am sorry that I banished you to the moon. It was a little extreme but I know that you'll say that it was justified."
The stallion nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad you understand, but that's not why you are here. I need your help and I'm asking you because you have something that none of my ponies have. We are in a time of crisis and I am not sure if I can deal with it for much longer. You see, after the Changeling liberation Equestria has slowly started to crumble and the Balance of Harmony is at stake. If we do not restore it then we will be thrown into a thousand years of disharmony."
The stallion gave a 'So what's the current situation like?' look and Celestia continued.
"It's not looking good for Equestria. Ponyville is on the verge of becoming a ghost town, this is because of the threat that many ponies believe is still lurking around the forest. Stalliongrad, Saddle Arabia and Hayti are all planning to secede from the kingdom and if they do they will be destroyed by the dragons that are slowly taking our territory. If they get close enough then they will incinerate Ponyville, Cloudsdale and Canterlot, we cannot allow that but even with out new allies we are powerless to stop them. I've also received word that King Sombra has returned and he has taken over the Crystal Empire once more. All of the Crystal ponies who were freed from his rule are now his slaves again, I cannot do anything to stop him. What is the most heartbreaking news is that all of your friends that you know and love, they are...they are no longer themselves. They have become withdrawn and because of that, the connection between them and the Elements of Harmony has been broken. If we are to restore the Balance of Harmony then we need to get them back to who they once were."
The Stallion looked away for a second then returned his view to Celestia, he gave a 'Go on' gesture.
"I need you to do something of utmost importance," Celestia said, "We have a plan to rebuild Equestria but resorting the Elements will not be enough. I know the place where you come from, and I know that if the stories are true, our Creator will be there."
The Stallion gave a quizzical look. Celestia continued, hoping to explain everything.
"There are stories of the one who created our world, I'm sure that you've never heard of them. I didn't think that our Creator was real, but after our last trans-dimensional visitors came here I now believe the tales as well. There's something about this creature that might just save us all, if our Creator is real then our Creator can save us. Getting the Creator here however is going to be a problem, but that's where you come in."
The stallion's expression shifted from curious to confused in an instant. He stepped closer, eager to hear more from Celestia.
"I need you to do this; Go back to the place where you once lived, find our Creator and return safely. Only then once our Creator is here can we restore Harmony. Now I ask you this, can you do this? Can you find our Creator and help restore Harmony?"
The Stallion's eyes darted around, looking in several directions before he returned them to Celestia. He smiled and nodded.
"Aye your Highness," the Stallion said in a thick and almost alien accent, "I'll do what you've tasked me with, just point me in the right direction."
Celestia smiled back as she descended from the throne to stand in front of the Stallion. Her horn glowed for a second and the chains on the Stallion fell off him, he rubbed the spots where the chains were and grinned.
"I knew that I could trust you, Scott," Celestia said, "Even after I banish you and leave you alone for over a year you still forgive me."
"It's just who I am. It's Scott Websly in case you forgot, Princess."
Celestia chuckled and placed a hoof over the small red stone on Scott's chest.
"You are the only pony who has the ability to wield the Element of Chaos. Use it to no end, just get our Creator here safe and sound. Now, go back to the Room of the Elements and wait for me there, I'll transport you to Earth."
Scott nodded and turned to leave, still being followed by a few guards. Before he left he stopped and turned to face Celestia, he needed to ask one more question.
"I almost forgot to ask, what is the name of the person I'm looking for?"
Celestia tapped her chin then looked at Scott with a condescending smile.
"Faust," she said, "Lauren Faust."